QE2 Dry Docking March 2018

[Trevor Harris]

Hi Joann!
Thank you for the kind message! 

[Michael Gallagher]

Liverpool Echo coverage

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/new-lease-life-cunard-line-14481565

[Thomas Hypher]

And here is the expected official video of the drydocking...with some lovely time-lapse footage and onboard footage whilst under tow (I have seen different onboard videos from the tows to and from the drydock but cannot make them public unfortunately). It almost looks as if she was having tug assistance prior to heading off to sea again after just another port visit...those were the days.

https://instagram.com/p/Bj_kgLynRSF

[Thomas Hypher]

Unfortunately Instagram cuts off the full length of the video due to having a limit of one minute for videos. The full video is available on her official (and public) Facebook page.

One can also see the one remaining foredeck crane (from 1992 onwards) being relocated (very briefly in one of the time-lapse scenes and by a drydock crane) from it's previously normal port side position to the opposite position, reusing the stump of the original-from-build starboard side crane (as removed in 1986/7) but now leaving a stump on the port side instead. It is good to see it will be reused given her starboard side is alongside now.

I can't tell, however, if the steel letters that made up "Southampton" have been removed and painted over as the outline of some of the letters appears to be visible but without the embossed type effect produced by the steel letters going over the hull at that point. Would be interesting to confirm either way.

[Lynda Bradford]

George C Griffiths had reminded me of the video Thomas, so I thought I would post the link he gave me just as a wee reminder.

https://home.mycloud.com/action/share/902dcc01-71ce-42c6-94c9-4663a591b3aa

[pete cain]

If only they were gettin her ready for a seasons sailing, find myself wondering if she will ever see a dry docking again, looked as though a lot of good work was done at the time, how long will it last?.

[Thomas Hypher]

If only they were gettin her ready for a seasons sailing, find myself wondering if she will ever see a dry docking again, looked as though a lot of good work was done at the time, how long will it last?.

She probably will, but over a much longer interval than if she was in service, she's not hamstrung like Queen Mary and drydocks big enough for her are around the corner too unlike for Queen Mary. They attached sacrificial anodes to her hull in a different and more numerous setup to her sailing configuration of sacrificial anodes during the course of that March 2018 drydocking and those will want checking and renewing eventually which might dictate how often she is drydocked.

The fact she's very fouled up with sea life underwater already (not helped by the warm water there) doesn't matter so much anymore either - no fuel economy or vital machinery intakes to worry about etc etc. I've attached my photo from back in January of part of her underwater hull.

[Chris Thompson]

The fact she's very fouled up with sea life underwater already

A few more years and she'll look like that Tanker in Waterworld...

[Peter Mugridge]

A few more years and she'll look like that Tanker in Waterworld...

Hopefully without matching the state of the upper parts...